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"Apple Tax" Report Backfires On Microsoft
Ian Lamont writes "A Microsoft-sponsored report that describes a hidden "Apple tax" has fallen flat among the technology press. Roger Kay's report (PDF) compares various PC and Mac configurations, and claims an all-Apple household's costs would add up to an extra $3,367 over five years. Tech columnists and bloggers have slammed the comparisons and claims made in the report — even Mac-baiter John C. Dvorak calls it propaganda. However, some Mac fans still see a pro-Microsoft press conspiracy. Even if the comparisons are questionable, Kay's report and the accompanying television ads have clearly struck a nerve among the Mac faithful."
Meanwhile, Linux users everywhere are scratching their heads.
If the superiority of Mac OS X was relevant to the majority of home computer users
I love how you say this as if it is implied truth. My experience has shown that Mac users tend to delude themselves into believing OS X is way better than it is. They seem to overlook its many shortcomings because to recognize them would be blasphemous or something. I used OS X as my primary desktop for two years. The one thing going for it is that it's pretty. Other than that, it's unnecessarily slow, has a shitty filesystem, is no more stable than XP and certainly not Vista, always had issues sleeping and waking, ilife was buggy (specifically iPhoto), is only secure through obscurity (as we've seen with the recent pwn2own contest).
If you really want to know why OS X has a small marketshare, it's because it only appeals to people who want to take far more pride in a hardware company than anyone should, and Apple gives them that outlet with trendy, flashy products. Everybody else just wants to go about their day, using whatever is most convenient, easy and accessible.
Similes are like metaphors
And you think anyone who is using MS because he's a dedicated MS user needs his faith reinforced that Apple is the allmighty evil and that everyone's a dork for buying an overhyped CrApple?
It's like saying Apple users need to be told again and again that their product makes them hip and cool, and that they're the leading crowd not despite, but because, they can afford computers that are more expensive, but also better because... oh, wait, I think you're onto something...
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Really the question I have is why would anybody NOT buy a mac?
Because the rest of us aren't as rich as you, Mr. Gates. Some of us simply cannot afford the extremely overpriced system. Software that can't run anywhere else, and hardware that can't run anything else (well, until recently, anyway...) - to me, it doesn't make sense in the first place. One of the common complaints is that there is so little software development for Apple platforms. Therefore, Bill, I will continue to pay your Microsoft Tax(tm) and install Linux-based operating systems. They're easier to develop for, anyway, since it's all open-source and community-driven and everyone can see everything and stuff.
Let q be a radix > 1. I am in ur base-q, killing 10 d00ds.
Because they, unlike you, find OSX to be slow and irritating. I much prefer Windows' and Linux' UIs to OSX, and my experiences with OSX have not been the blindingly fast euphoric "just works" experiences that iFans and Apple claim they are. I have absolutely no incentive to pay extra for a system that runs a piece of software that I hate and don't need for anything.
How's that for a reason not to buy a Mac?
Try not to take me more seriously than I take myself.
Note that the 5 licenses only apply to computers owned by the same family and in the same house.
As noted it does cover children in college - but also keep in mind it does not have activation so you can bend the rules if you like. What is worse, pirating the OS after buying it once because a relative needs a copy, or buying a five pack and installing it on your mothers computer?
Apple is smart to have an option that lets you give them a little more money for something people are going to do anyway.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
That's not a service. We're stuck with the dancing bear of architectures because it may not dance well, but it dances to the Microsoft tune.